Stitching and the Gardens of Sussex
Stitching and the Gardens of Sussex A perfect summer sewing break combining guided visits to two of Sussex’s most beautiful gardens with two full-day hand sewing workshops with Carolyn Forster and the opportunity for shopping at two of the region’s most loved craft shops. ### Carolyn’s Siddi mini quilt workshop Carolyn’s workshops will be centred around a theme of gardens and flowers and will be using one of her popular quilt-as-you-go methods, combined with a traditional Siddi quilt technique. Siddi or Kawandi quilts come from western India, made by people of African descent who came to India through enslavement by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. Traditionally, these would often be bed quilts, made from a sari base and appliqued patches of fabric built up on top, from a corner, the outside edges and worked towards the centre. These patches are held down with a running stitch, and the layers of overlapping patches built up to cover the base cloth. Traditionally, they are finished with a folded fabric square at each corner, known as a Phula or flower, and some consider the Kawandi unfinished or undressed without it. We will be exploring this technique on a smaller version, using scraps of patchwork weight fabrics or personal cloth, labels, or embroidery snippets.
Your Tour Includes
- Private coach travel for tours and excursions
- 5 Nights Half Board accommodation at the 4-star Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club
- Lunch on workshop days
- Hand-Sewing workshops with Carolyn Forster
- The services of an experienced tour manager
Itinerary
Please choose your preferred 6 day itinerary
Make your own way to Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club. We will dine together this evening, a perfect opportunity to get to know your fellow stitchers.
Includes Dinner
Today will be spent in a hand-sewing workshop with Carolyn in the hotel, breaking for lunch which is also included.
Includes Breakfast
Includes Lunch
Includes Dinner
At Pashley Manor Gardens we’ll discover 11 acres of beautiful borders and vistas – the culmination of a lifetime of passion for gardening, an appetite for beauty and an admiration of the tradition of the English Country garden. These award-winning gardens are family owned and maintained – visitors often express delight at the attention to detail displayed throughout and the intimate, peaceful atmosphere. All the ingredients of the English Country Garden are present – sweeping herbaceous borders, ha-ha, well maintained lawns, box hedges, espaliered rose walk, historic walled garden, inspiring kitchen garden, venerable trees and the Grade I listed house as a backdrop. The gardens are a haven for wildlife – bees, butterflies and small birds as well as moor hens, ducks and a black swan. Then, of course, the plants! Borders overflowing with perennials and annuals – the look changing through the seasons, but always abundantly filled, and each garden ‘room’ planted in a different colour theme. After some free time for lunch/refreshments, and on route back to the hotel, we’ll continue to the village of Ticehurst for a visit to The Old Haberdashery, a shop full of vintage & vintage inspired homewares, textiles and haberdashery.
Includes Breakfast
Includes Dinner
Today will be spent in a hand-sewing workshop with Carolyn in the hotel, breaking for lunch which is also included.
Includes Breakfast
Includes Lunch
Includes Dinner
Tucked behind tall hedges, Merriments 4-acre RHS garden is a hidden treasure for garden lovers. The beautiful colour-themed borders of inspiring planting are set amongst the rolling countryside of East Sussex. With a relaxed, classic, contemporary style, we'll enjoy both formal and wild plantings, all set on a gently sloping, south facing site. After our visit we’ll continue to Royal Tunbridge Wells for some free time for lunch, followed by a visit to Pincushion quilting and sewing store.
Includes Breakfast
Includes Dinner
After breakfast, say farewell to your fellow stitchers.
Includes Breakfast
Accommodation
You will stay for five nights at the 4-star Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club.